A TAXI DRIVER: RECENT HISTORY

While there is little doubt that movies made about historical events will play fast and loose with the facts one of the benefits of them being made is that they open the door to discovery. You watch a film and then go look deeper into the story to find out the facts. The whole thing cannot be encapsulated in 2-3 hours. With A TAXI DRIVER I learned about a rough period in the history of South Korea aside from the Korean War.

It’s May 1980 and independent taxi driver Kim Man-seob (Song Kang-ho) is doing his best to get along. Raising his daughter alone he has to chastise her for fighting with the landlord’s son, a woman he still owes back rent to. As he heads out to try and make as much as he can the next day he’s downhearted but hopes for the best.

A chance to make more than he’s ever made and get himself out of debt arises when he hears of a journalist wanting transportation from Seoul to Gwangju and back. All Kim sees is the money involved and with no knowledge of what is happening in Gwangju he sets out to steal the fare from a cab service. He picks up the journalist, Jürgen "Peter" Hinzpeter (Thomas Kretschmann), and off they go.

Their first hint that something is amiss comes when they find troops blocking the road entering the city and are told to turn back. Peter knows there is rioting in the streets taking place, his reason for going there. Kim, focused only on his personal issues has no way of knowing what’s taking place. With that in mind he agrees to find a way to get Peter into the city and they take a back road.

Eventually they do get into the city and Peter pays Kim part of the money. As they make their way through the streets they see the rioting going on with students and workers uniting in protest against the government. From a rooftop location they watch as the protesters are brutally beaten and some shot. All the while the government reports that protesters are few and casualties are minor.

Kim urges Peter for them to return to Seoul but Peter is intent on capturing the truth on film to show the world. The meet some of the protesters who take them in and offer to help repair Kim’s taxi. He and Peter get to know the people for who they really are, people willing to share what little they have with them in the hopes that their story will come out. What happens the next day unites the two men as the world they once knew is completely shattered.

What makes this film even more amazing is to learn that it is based on reality. Not just due to the story of these two men but to imagine the amount of brutality and murder that was going on at the time. The historical even taking place is known as the Gwangju Democratization Movement of 1980. And rather than low numbers being killed it was reported that over 606 people died during the demonstrations.

The movie involves the viewers by seeing the events through the eyes of Kim. A simple man, a widower who wants nothing more than the best for his daughter, he sees his entire world change in a two days. Even though speaking in a different language actor Song Kang-ho pulls off an amazing performance here conveying the turmoil Kim finds himself in through his movements, actions and facial expressions. Thomas Kretschmann does a fine job as well but his determined journalist whose sole focus is the story can grate on you while watching. It isn’t until he too realizes the danger the two of them are in that he becomes a move sympathetic character.

I’m guessing that few will know the story being told here but once you finish watching you aren’t likely to forget it. The film was chosen to represent South Korea as best foreign film at the Oscars but was withdrawn for some reason. That didn’t stop it from being the second highest grossing film there that year. I can’t recommend this movie enough, a chance to see another part of the world and what took place there through different eyes, something that can only be done via film.

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